{"id":1218682,"date":"2022-10-07T19:54:58","date_gmt":"2022-10-07T19:54:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/10\/07\/green-card-sponsorships-startup-prenups-agtech-vc-survey\/"},"modified":"2022-10-07T19:54:58","modified_gmt":"2022-10-07T19:54:58","slug":"green-card-sponsorships-startup-prenups-agtech-vc-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/10\/07\/green-card-sponsorships-startup-prenups-agtech-vc-survey\/","title":{"rendered":"Green card sponsorships, startup prenups, agtech VC survey \u2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In the early days of a startup, everyone is on the same page. But there\u2019s no way to know how well a founding team will get along by the time a company reaches maturity.<\/p>\n

Set aside the romantic notion that startup teams consist of visionary mavericks who are building the future in real time; they\u2019re also human beings, with all of their flaws.<\/p>\n

Nearly anything can tear a co-founder relationship asunder. I have observed partnerships go sour over funding disputes, product pipelines, and in one case, a bad experience at Burning Man.<\/p>\n

Starry-eyed newlyweds routinely sign prenuptial agreements without losing their sense of idealism, and startup founders should do the same, advises Yonaton Aronoff, a partner at litigation and employment law firm Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, as too many co-founders and spouses come to realize, the best time to plan for negative outcomes is at the beginning of the relationship,\u201d he writes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWaiting until conflict develops can be devastating, and too often leads to intractable litigation with no clear winner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Working with an attorney to create \u201cstrong and clear governing documents\u201d early in your relationship goes a long way toward building trust on the founding team by creating general plans for how to handle events like future fundraising or M&A transactions.<\/p>\n

One key takeaway: A 50\/50 partnership sounds great, but if two people can\u2019t come to an agreement, it could \u201clead to catastrophic results down the line,\u201d Aronoff says. Flipping a coin is \u201cnot ideal,\u201d so consider designating a trusted third party as a tie-breaker should the need arise.<\/p>\n

Few founders have experience working collaboratively over an extended period of time. Assuming that the average exit will take a little over seven years, it\u2019s crucial to set clear expectations early in the game.<\/p>\n

Thanks very much for reading,<\/p>\n

Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, +
@yourprotagonist<\/a><\/p>\n

Pitch Deck Teardown: Vori\u2019s $10M Series A deck<\/h2>\n
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Image Credits:<\/strong> Vori (opens in a new window)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

B2B wholesale app Vori announced a $10 million Series A in August that will help expand its inventory management service for independent grocery stores.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you make an interface that\u2019s as fun to use as Candy Crush?\u201d asks CEO Brandon Hill in a video that accompanies the 13-slide deck the company shared with TC+:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Cover slide<\/li>\n
  • Mission statement slide<\/li>\n
  • Vori-at-a-glance \u2014 (KPI slide, lightly redacted)<\/li>\n
  • \u201cWe understand grocery\u201d \u2014 interstitial slide<\/li>\n
  • \u201cOur market: Independent Grocery Chains\u201d \u2014 market slide<\/li>\n
  • \u201cGrocery stores still run on pencil and paper\u201d \u2014 problem slide<\/li>\n
  • \u201cHow these stores operate today\u201d \u2014 problem slide<\/li>\n
  • \u201cSuddenly, COVID changed everything in grocery\u201d \u2014 \u201cWhy now\u201d slide<\/li>\n
  • \u201cMeet Vori, the all-in-one grocery back office\u201d \u2014 solution slide<\/li>\n
  • \u201cWhat retailers are saying\u201d \u2014 market validation slide<\/li>\n
  • \u201cThe largest undigitized retail segment on earth\u201d \u2014 market size\/TAM\/SAM\/SOM slide<\/li>\n
  • \u201cCompeting against legacy systems\u201d \u2014 competition slide (redacted)<\/li>\n
  • \u201cOur team was born for this\u201d \u2014 team slide<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    7 investors discuss how agtech can solve agriculture\u2019s biggest problems<\/h2>\n
    \"Crop<\/p>\n

    Image Credits:<\/strong> The Creative Drone (opens in a new window)<\/span> \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    Of all global industries, perhaps none is more susceptible to the dangers of climate change than agriculture.<\/p>\n

    There\u2019s a consensus among reputable scientists that the amount of CO2<\/sub> we\u2019re putting in the atmosphere is aggravating already extreme weather events. How is that impacting the way agtech VCs operate during a downturn?<\/p>\n

    To learn more, we surveyed:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Brett Brohl, managing director, Techstars Farm to Fork, and managing partner, Bread and Butter Ventures<\/li>\n
    • Monica Varman, partner, G2 Venture Partners<\/li>\n
    • Jinesh Shah, managing partner, Omnivore<\/li>\n
    • Adam Anders, managing partner, Anterra Capital<\/li>\n
    • Ting-Ting Liu, investor, and Ashutosh Sharma, India head, Prosus Ventures<\/li>\n
    • Camila Petignat, partner, The Yield Lab<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Dear Sophie: Any tips for negotiating visa and green card sponsorship?<\/h2>\n
      \"lone<\/p>\n

      Image Credits:<\/strong> Bryce Durbin\/<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      Dear Sophie,<\/strong><\/p>\n

      I\u2019m currently on an F-1 student visa. I\u2019ll receive my bachelor\u2019s degree in computer science in December and will apply for OPT. I\u2019d like to stay and work in the U.S. <\/strong><\/p>\n

      Do you have any tips for negotiating visa and green card sponsorship? Anything else I should remember as I start contacting prospective employers? <\/strong><\/p>\n

      \u2014 Shy Student<\/strong><\/p>\n

      The changing cloud landscape: From observability to optimization<\/h2>\n
      \"Girl<\/p>\n

      Image Credits:<\/strong> Carlo Prearo \/ EyeEm (opens in a new window)<\/span> \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      In a deeply researched market map, early-stage investor Chelsea Goddard shared her thesis on the future of cloud computing, which takes into account how \u201cincreased demand for optimization\u201d is changing the industry.<\/p>\n

      \u201cOnce we are past this wave of cloud and edge initiatives, infrastructure investment will shift toward the next set of strategic enterprise priorities, automation and optimization,\u201d predicts Goddard.<\/p>\n

      The US venture capital slowdown doesn\u2019t look that bad<\/h2>\n
      \"\"<\/p>\n

      Image Credits:<\/strong> Nigel Sussman (opens in a new window)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      According to PitchBook, preliminary VC deal data in Q3 appears to be lower than previous quarters this year:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Q1: $80.0 billion\/4,740 deals<\/li>\n
      • Q2: $71.9 billion\/4,055 deals<\/li>\n
      • Q3 $43.0 billion\/3,076 deals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Despite the apparent decline, \u201c2022 is on pace to trounce any year\u2019s venture totals that we have data for apart from 2021,\u201d writes Alex Wilhelm in The Exchange.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n